Dear Havanah / Elise Hayes / Tom Howie

Saturday / February 20, 2010 / 7:00 p.m.

Cafe 939

939 Boylston Street

Boston

MA

United States

02115

Dear Havanah

Soulful, young, and energetic are three defining words for Boston-based, rock-infused, jam quintet Dear Havanah. With their melodic hooks and honest, uninhibited live shows, the band is making waves around the northeast. Dear Havanah will be teaming up with Soulive drummer Alan Evans to record their second album. Evans will be producing the new Dear Havanah album, to be released spring 2010, at Play on Brother Studios.

2009 proved to be a successful year for the band. With their Veggie Co. Records debut on iTunes, Dear Havanah has been touring clubs and college campuses from the Northeast to the Midwest, making new friends and fans at every stop. Dear Havanah is known for their candid, energetic live shows, which stem from the tight-knit friendships within the band. The group has been tirelessly promoting their album, Chasing Butterflies, while writing material for a new record. Visit dearhavanah.com for free downloads of Dear Havanahs live shows, and find out for yourself what audiences are buzzing about.

Elise Hayes likes to describe herself as a pop artist with an r&b/soul sensibility. With influences ranging from James Taylor to Gladys Knight, Elise effectively blends thoughtful songwriting with a soulful punch. She began her musical endeavors in the quaint New England town of Keene, NH. Now a city girl, Elise lives in Boston, MA, where she attended Berklee College of Music. There, she was given the opportunity to perform with and for several music industry giants, such as Barry Eastmond, Steve Winwood, Philip Bailey, Rosa Passos, Howard Shore, and many more. In 2008, she formed the neo-soul group Sutra, and they collectively performed all over New England and the Boston bar circuit (Harper's Ferry, Middle East Upstairs and Downstairs, Harp, Cask and Flagon, Bill's Bar, Church of Boston, Polcari's, Mt. Snow, Henesseys, and the Green Dragon). She was the recipient of an award for Outstanding Achievement in Vocal Performance in 2009.

Tom Howie is a talented 21-year-old singing songs that seem wise beyond his years. His honest lyrics and haunting voice are awakening a deep response in his fans, who are starting to flock to his shows on the East Coast. The young Canadian came to Boston when he was awarded a songwriting scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music. Now Tom is using Boston as home base for playing live shows as well as for his writing and recording projects.Tom recently released an EP called The Chester Sessions with fellow Berklee students. Over the summer he was invited to perform at a music festival in St Barths, and spent a week in the Caribbean playing music there. Back in Canada, he had a production deal with Ashwin Sood, husband to, and drummer for, acclaimed singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan, who appears on several of the tracks from the EP Song Is the Lifeblood. Tom then attracted the interest of some terrific labels, managers and agents and had some radio and TV appearances while playing gigs throughout Western Canada.